Death
by flyin'rabbit
Summary: Death would come upon them... Halloween 1981


Death would come upon them. His master had told him that he would do it as soon as possible now. It was Halloween tonight. After this evening, James Potter would be no more. Nor would his wife and son.

His son. Little Harry Potter; who would've thought that such a small boy would be able to cause so much trouble for a powerful wizard like the Dark Lord? It didn't matter; after tonight, nothing would be able to stop him anymore. The wizarding world would surrender to his might and his power.

His own hideout was only a temporary one. Soon, he would be able to fully support his master; soon, he wouldn't have to live with this secret anymore. Of course, the fools who called themselves his friends thought that he would search for a better hiding place soon. Little did they know that soon, he wouldn't need a hiding place any longer.

He couldn't exactly pinpoint _when_ he had started resenting his friends. Was it while they were still at Hogwarts, or was only afterwards, when he found out how much freedom the post-graduation world gave him? He didn't need his friends anymore, and even if he did, they wouldn't be around constantly to have his back. It was probably then that he started to wonder why they had taken him under their wing all that time. It was then that he saw the discrepancies. Hadn't they teased and pestered him non-stop, too?

Countless times, they had insinuated that he was plain stupid. Yes, he wasn't as smart as his friends, but that didn't automatically mean that he was an idiot. They would let him do all the dirty work, always. No exceptions. They always made fun of him.

And now it was his turn.

Taking his post-graduation freedom, he had set out to prove to everyone, but _especially_ his fellow Marauders, just how untalented and pathetic he was. It was time to show them a real marauder. He had been given the chance to do so by the Dark Lord, for which he was still grateful. Look where it had brought him. He knew for a fact that he was going to survive this war. The others, he wasn't so sure about.

Perhaps if his master wanted to start recruiting werewolves, Remus would stand a chance. Besides that, they were done for.

And he would finally get some respect and thankfulness for his deeds, something he had never gotten while he'd been in school.

It had almost been too good to be true. When his master had told him that he was after the Potters, it had been his job to leak information about their whereabouts. It was too bad that in the end, they chose to use a Secret Keeper. For them, of course.

His master, though, hadn't been very amused when he first heard about their plans of using a Fidelius Charm. It was clear whom they would use as their Secret Keeper. Although, why trust a dog when you can also place your lives in the hands (or paws?) of a rat? Obvious choice, right?

He knew a rat wasn't the most well-liked animal out there, but being so small sure could have its benefits.

Dumbledore even offered them his services, and yet everybody thought of him as the stupidest one out of the four of them? He was sure he was actually the only sane one, the only one with some common sense – after all, it was clear who would win this war. It was clear what would happen to everyone who kept fighting. It was much better to join his master's side before it was too late.

It had been Sirius who had come up with the master plan of changing Secret Keepers, thinking that it would be much too obvious if he would fulfil this role. Which, of course, it was. So they picked not the werewolf, but the rat. And what a fortunate choice indeed. His master had been more than pleased with him.

The Fidelius Charm had been performed only minutes before he had been called by his master. Less than an hour had the Potters been safe before their worst enemy knew exactly where they were. Another week had passed in which further preparations had been made – after all, once Harry Potter was disposed of, nobody would be able to put a stop to the Dark Lord's rise to world power.

And if his and his master's assumptions were right (which they usually were) those fools hadn't informed anyone – not even Dumbledore – about the switch. Nobody knew. Only the Potters, who would be dead soon anyway, and Sirius.

Sirius, who would be convinced that he himself had killed the Potters just by persuading them to switch.

Not that it would matter. Once the Potters were dealt with, he was ready to tell the whole world where his loyalties _really_ lay. There would be no need to be secretive anymore. Everyone could know that it was him who betrayed the Potters.

He was taken out of his reverie by a sharp pain in his left arm. As he checked it, he noticed, to his immense surprise, that his Dark Mark seemed to have disappeared. As if it had never been there. Considering this swiftly, he could draw only one conclusion. Something had happened at the Potters, something nobody could've foreseen.

Nobody had ever bothered to tell him about what was going on once the Mark disappeared, but he had overheard his master telling Malfoy, who had been brave (or foolish, since he was later Crucio-ed for it) enough to ask, that the Mark would never vanish, because that meant that he himself had vanished. So the only thing this could mean…

He was glad he wasn't at his hideout right now, but that didn't mean he was safe. Getting up from the park bench he had been sitting on for the past hour, he started walking.

How was this possible? It wasn't. It wasn't possible. What had gone wrong? The plan had been flawless!

But he only knew he would have to disappear as well. Yes, nobody knew about the switch. Nobody except for Sirius.

Sirius, who would hunt him down now like a dog its prey. Ironic, no? At Hogwarts, he had seen how Sirius could be whenever he was mad and angry. Considering the fact that his best friend just died, he wouldn't be happy. Things could get completely out of hand once Sirius was furious.

On the other hand, this was Sirius, whose family supported the Dark Lord with all their might. As long as the people at the Ministry wouldn't use Veritaserum, nobody would believe in Sirius' innocence, he was sure of it.

That was, if Sirius would let him live long enough to even arrive at the Ministry. Most likely, he would be completely blown apart long before that moment would even come.

He was sure that Sirius was completely blown away himself by the fact that the Potters were now dead. Betrayed. Gone forever. He wasn't sure why, but he knew, from what he had been told about little Harry's powers, that James and Lily were killed and that somehow, Harry must have beaten the Dark Lord. How, he didn't know. What he did know was that he and his master had severely underestimated the powers the little boy already must have had.

Just like his so-called friends had underestimated him by choosing him to be their Secret Keeper. They had probably thought that he was still there for them, ready to cheer them on in their fight against the other side. Too late had they understood that he was no longer the nervous boy he had been in school.

He had become much better at numerous things since school had ended. He didn't stutter and blush when he was lying anymore. If he still would, his cover would've been blown ages ago.

His duelling had improved too since that time. Walking through a crowded street, full of Muggles, he heard the voice of one of his friends – no, his former friends – and realised that Sirius was about to find out how much better – and if not better, at least quicker – he had become at duelling.

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**A/N**: So... what do you think of this? I hope you enjoyed it, please review~

(**Disclaimer**: I don't own the world of Harry Potter)


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